Vanderpump Rules fans are back for another round of Rachel Leviss and Bethenny Frankel’s podcast interview and in the words of NeNe Leakes, “I’m just, I’m so tired. I’m really tired.” As Scandoval was slowly dying out, the former Real Housewives of New York City star decided to resurrect the drama as if it was Jesus on Easter Sunday.
The Skinnygirl founder thought the interview would go down a lot better than it has. Most viewers feel that Bethenny is doing the same thing she is criticizing Bravo for doing—using Rachel.
Rachel Touches on Physical Attack From Scheana
After appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Rachel was asked about her altercation with Scheana Shay. As fans recall, Rachel alleged that Scheana pushed her into a brick wall, noting their relationship was not “Good as Gold.” Rachel went as far as to file for a restraining order, which stayed in effect during the Season 10 reunion. Rachel told Bethenny, “Scheana did physically assault me that night, and I have a permanent scar on my eyebrow. At the moment, I thought I deserved it. That’s why I just stood there and let it happen.”
Rachel continued, “She pushed me as hard as she could against a brick wall. The back of my head hit the wall pretty hard. And then she socked me in the eye, and I was in shock. She threw my phone in the street and then called Ariana from her phone. And I immediately ran to my phone, and it was a brand new iPhone, so I was like, ‘Oh no, is it cracked.'”
Both Bethenny and Rachel giggled at this antidote. Rachel revealed she then “called Tom immediately, and I was like Scheana just punched me in the face. And he was like, oh I know, I heard her say to Ariana, I just punched that bitch in her face and threw her phone in the street.”
Rachel shared that being portrayed as the villain has been challenging. She said it especially hurt that Scheana “doubled down on this narrative that I’m a liar and a cheat and that I completely fabricated this assault for whatever reason. I don’t think that filing a restraining order was out of the question because she was making this like a punch emoji on a post that she made with Ariana, saying, like I always got your back. And it just, I didn’t feel safe.”
Rachel Addresses Criticism That She Knew What She Was Getting Into
The Big Apple star goes on to ask Rachel, “Did you sign up for this? Everyone will say well, you signed up for this. Everyone knows what they are getting into. They’ve seen the show.” Mind you, some fans are calling Bethenny out for never watching an episode of Vanderpump Rules and not knowing the affair went on for seven months, but I digress.
Rachel calmly replied, “You know what, Bethenny, I really thought that reality TV was going to be fun. I thought it would be a great experience for me to step out of my comfort zone.”
Rachel Is Shocked Tom Filmed Her
Most Vanderpump Rules fans are no longer surprised by Tom’s shady and frankly gross choices. However, Rachel shared that she had never permitted him to film her while on FaceTime. The video in question was Ariana Madix‘s first clue about the affair, allegedly showing Rachel masturbating for Tom. Rachel told the listener she “felt very betrayed. I felt like I couldn’t trust this person. I felt like my privacy didn’t matter to him.”
Tom didn’t have a good excuse. According to Rachel, “he wanted me to see it later on to see how beautiful I was. But if he would have asked me for permission, I would have said no.”
Rachel also highlighted that when filming picked back up, Tom admitted to filming, “but then after that scene wrapped he said, why did you say that, why did you say that on camera, you made me look bad?” According to the model, the TomTom co-owner then boycotted filming the rest of “Scandoval so that he could have editing rights to that scene to take out that specifics.”
Tom Has Producing Rights
As Rachel pointed out, Tom has been on Vanderpump Rules since the beginning, noting he isn’t “technically a producer. I don’t know even if I’m able to disclose this information, but he did tell me during negotiations for Season 11 that he was offered a producer credit for Season 11. So I think he was being rewarded for the Scandoval of it all. And to me, that’s just kind of gross because it seems, it makes me skeptical, was this really something that was fabricated for this end result?”
At this time, Bethenny chimed in, voicing, “It sounds like Lisa is profiting, Bravo is profiting, Andy Cohen is definitely profiting, Tom is profiting, Ariana is profiting, and you are in debt. Interesting.”
Kristen Doute May Have Been Silenced
Rachel also talked about former Vanderpump Rules castmates, including Kristen Doute, who ironically has been given her own spinoff by Bravo. Rachel jumped in, telling Bethenny, “it’s interesting that you mention Kristen, because Kristen was just starting to talk about her tumultuous relationship with James. And what happened behind closed doors, and then all of sudden she is presented with this spinoff which I believe is a way to silence her, to keep that under wraps so that the longevity of Vanderpump Rules can continue.”
Giving away her lack of show knowledge, Bethenny asks, “So there’s a physical abuse allegation with Kristen and James? And people say something was cut out. I’ve gotten people who have called me about related incidents. And you think a spinoff is good hush money for someone fired for an alleged racist act?”
For her part, Rachel divulged, “I do believe what she has said about James. I’ve seen him be a violent person, so I have no doubt that what she is saying is true. I hope that one day, it will come to light and that there will be justice. It is interesting because the cast members that were fired and canceled at that time now have this big comeback because this scandal is so salacious that we are the ultimate villains, Tom and I, and now they have a platform to redeem themselves.”
TELL US – WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF RACHEL LEVISS’ INTERVIEW?
